Marketing Trends for 2011

Every year at this time, publications are filled with forecasts of trends that businesses most assuredly will want to follow in order to drive business growth to a new level. Experimental efforts are initiated in January, only to fall by the wayside as people get busy and early efforts fail to produce results. As a result, most lists of trends do little to actually aid business leaders in gaining any value for their own companies. I hope this article proves to be the exception.

Let's keep it simple. We do not need ten, twenty or thirty trends to consider. Time is short and resources are limited. Let's pick three. Following are three key trends that can help you grow your business in 2011.

Focus on New Customer Sales

The key trend in 2011 should be no different than it is in any year… increase revenue through the most economical and effective means possible to optimize profitable growth. Businesses can achieve this lofty goal by focusing all marketing efforts on new customer sales. In a 2010 survey conducted by Forrester Research, 53% of B2B interactive marketers in the United States reported that driving new customer sales is their most important objective when making interactive marketing investments. What better indicator of successful marketing can you have than an increase in revenue at a profitable level? While additional or repeat sales to existing customers should serve as the foundation of good business, increased sales from new customers are required in order to energize the company's growth and ensure longevity. Click-thru rates, e-mail open rates, web traffic, etc. serve as the means by which you can determine whether or not you are proceeding down the correct path to potential business growth. The overall end all for most businesses is the conversion of prospects to paying customers to increase annual revenue.

For the most part, mass marketing took a hiatus as the Internet opened new opportunities for targeted marketing efforts. Targeted marketing proved to be not only more economical but also more effective in reaching the prospects businesses had accurately profiled, located and communicated with… in an acceptable manner. The days of pushing your product or service on prospects are over. Informed prospects and customers must be drawn to your website and encouraged to purchase through the exchange of information and validation from satisfied users. The tools that are now available to accomplish this include opt-in e-mail, social networking, online search and your own user-friendly, interactive website with an informational blog.

Engage Your Customers

In 2011, more businesses will be turning their attention to their websites, opt-in e-mail and social networking, while learning to make all of these marketing vehicles significant lead generators. Overall community management is a critical responsibility that results in effective engagement of your customer community - one of your company's most valuable assets.

Let's start with your own company website. The first order of business in the New Year should be a thorough evaluation of your existing website. Does it present the proper image of your business? Have you put your best foot forward in order to attract prospects and convince them to buy? In most cases, a thorough upgrade of the website is required. In some cases a complete overhaul may be in order. The advantage of the website is that it allows for frequent, cost-effective updating as compared to printed materials. Take advantage of this benefit and adjust your messaging as often as needed to keep the sales pipeline full. By utilizing landing page optimization tactics, and converting targeted market segments with valuable content, more leads can be generated. Content marketing will continue to prove to be one of the most effective tools in encouraging prospects to seek more information, reinforce customer relationships and convert prospects to buyers.

Social networking facilitates interaction with your customers, allowing them to band together to actually reinforce each other's decision to remain loyal customers. Take advantage of this opportunity. I oftentimes hear clients indicate that despite their desire to communicate, they do not know what to say to their customers. The answer is… "Tell it like it is", just as if you were meeting face-to-face. Listen to what customers say and respond honestly. Share positive news and admit to issues when they surface, indicating the means by which you intend to resolve them. Seek ideas. Offer rewards for loyalty. The list could go on and on.

The demise of e-mail is over-stated. E-mail is alive and well if used properly. First of all, if you do not already have a customer and/or prospect e-mail list, start building it now. It will prove to be a most effective marketing tool to encourage increased revenue. Opt-in in-house customer/prospect e-mail lists typically produce above average click-thru and conversion rates. This statement assumes, of course, that you have newsworthy information to share that is truly of value to the recipients.

Think Multichannel

While most marketers are quick to proclaim "the" most appropriate means for taking the brand message to the marketplace, the most effective solution lies in the utilization of a multichannel approach to marketing and communication. Cover as many of your media outlet bases as possible without watering down your budget to the extreme. Remember that a trickle will never have the impact of a wave. Set your goals and test various media outlets to determine effectiveness. You can then select the proper blend of alternative outlets that produce the results you seek. In 2011, expect overall spending on online marketing activities such as SEO, email marketing and paid search to increase. Do not be surprised if marketers find the extra budget they need for online activities by reducing spending on offline initiatives like direct mail, trade shows and print advertising. Although stimulating awareness and preference through traditional media remains valid, most buyers are utilizing online vehicles more than ever as the primary source for their research in identifying and locating the products and services they want to purchase. You need to place your brand messaging where your target prospects are located.

Conclusion

While you can readily find an unending array of "trend" articles for 2011, I recommend that you narrow your focus to just three simple if not obvious trends that may not be earth-shattering but will prove to be effective and can be implemented by the busiest of company leaders. Focus your efforts on new customer sales, engage your current customers more effectively using the many online tools that are available and evaluate a multichannel approach in distributing your company's message or value proposition. Eliminate the complexity in your marketing efforts. Make effective use of these three technology-based, customer-centric marketing initiatives and applied analytics to produce the profitable business growth you seek throughout 2011.